All posts by n8rngtd.top

This season was meant to be all about Celtic’s tenth SPFL crown in a row. Though, for various reasons, that has fallen by the wayside.

The Hoops are 23 points behind Rangers and it looks as though their pursuit of ten in a row is falling flat in the dirt.

This has been a disastrous campaign and it’s rather surprising that Neil Lennon is still in the job. With the likes of Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer repeatedly linked with moves away, times could get even tougher for the Northern Irishman.

Edouard is attracting interest from the Premier League while Ajer has been touted with a switch to AC Milan.

It’s clear why the former is such a pillar for Celtic – he scored 28 times and registered 19 assists last season. Ajer, however, seems to coast through games with undoubted solidity in the backline.

Signed for a grand total of £0, Ajer arrived as a free transfer when he was just 17-years-old in 2016. Since then, he has come on leaps and bounds, establishing himself as a leader and stalwart of Lennon’s side.

The very fact Celtic valued the centre-back at around £20m last summer is a testament to what they’ve done with the player and indeed, how impressive the business has been.

Since heading to Scotland, the 22-year-old has played on 159 occasions for the Hoops and along the way, has earned comparisons to a certain Brazilian legend in Cafu.

Of course, Ajer can play at right-back and as a holding midfielder as well, but it’s in the middle of a back four where he’s looked the most comfortable. He has become an impenetrable wall on his way to winning three consecutive Scottish Premiership crowns.

Though, most impressive is the fact that even during tough times, he’s stood out. Celtic’s defence has been woeful this season, conceding 19 in six Europa League outings and shipping 11 more goals than Rangers in three fewer games in the league.

That being said, Ajer has still been a rock.

John Hartson commented earlier this month: “He’s grabbing the bull by the horns and he’s almost dragging the team through, even to these draws. You see him making these lung-bursting runs forward, he’s marauding with that big stride, he’s challenging, on his backside, making blocks, in the opposition’s penalty area.”

Hartson continued: “He’s a credit to the rest of the players. They should all look at him and if they’d all adopted the same attitude as Ajer then might have made a better fist of it in terms of holding on to the title.”

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That’s about as good as praise can get, but let’s analyse the statistics too. The Norwegian has won more tackles per game (1.5) than any other centre-back in the squad this season, while his pass success rate of 89.2% is the fourth-highest of Celtic’s regular starters.

Furthermore, he ranks in the same place for interceptions per game (1.3). This isn’t a player who hides away and he has shown as much this season. The fact he stepped up and slammed home the winning penalty in the Scottish Cup final is evidence.

Considering they didn’t pay a penny for him, this has been outstanding business. The £10k-per-week earner is a vital cog in the machine at Parkhead.

AND in other news, Desmond eyes “ambitious” Lennon successor, he could fix Celtic’s biggest problem…

Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed recently that Liverpool have been offered the chance to sign Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos and the Reds would be making a huge mistake if they were to sign the Greek centre-back.

What’s the word?

Romano revealed on his Here We Go podcast that the Merseyside club have been offered the 32-year-old defender this month, as the Gunners look to get the former Borussia Dortmund man off their books.

The Reds are, of course, currently low on defensive options following injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez earlier in the season but they would still perhaps be best served by avoiding Sokratis, considering he hasn’t played a single minute of senior football this season.

Worse than Lovren?

Liverpool will surely be rueing their decision to sell Croatian centre-back Dejan Lovren in the summer transfer window and not signing a replacement, as Jurgen Klopp has been forced to play Fabinho, usually alongside youngsters Rhys Williams and Nathaniel Phillips in his defence for much of this season.

The 31-year-old averaged a very solid 7.09 rating for his performances in the Premier League last season when called upon by Klopp, whereas Sokratis earned a much less impressive 6.82 rating for the Gunners, suggesting that he would’ve been a much better option to have than the Arsenal man.

Whilst the experienced defender is well-known to Klopp, having featured 73 times under the German manager during his time at Dortmund, he is clearly well past his best, evidenced by Mikel Arteta leaving him out of his Premier League squad for this season.

Therefore, whilst the Greek international would provide a short-term solution in terms of being an available centre-back in Liverpool’s squad, in the time we would see him build his fitness, Matip would probably return from the injury that has kept him out recently, so he would only be useful if the Cameroonian suffered another injury.

Even then Klopp may prefer to keep faith in Phillips and Williams, so signing Sokratis who earns £92k per week at Arsenal would be a rare error from Michael Edwards and the Liverpool board, given the success they have seen from signings such as Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Thiago and Sadio Mane, to name a few, in recent years.

And, in other news… Bye-bye Matip: Edwards must swoop for £50m titan tipped for “an amazing future”

Many football clubs across the continent can lay claim to owning one of the best academies in the beautiful game, none more so than Glasgow Rangers who have unearthed gems like Billy Gilmour and Kai Kennedy in recent times.

Developing young talents is often a touchy subject in football, with many an argument raging over whether or not clubs invest the right amount of time and effort into their academies or if they are simply guilty of ignoring homegrown graduates.

But it’s fair to say that, for the most part, the Glasgow giants have done a decent job with Steven Gerrard currently receiving plaudits for his handling of Leon King, Nathan Patterson and a number of others at Ibrox.

However, if there’s one criticism to be made, it’s that he needs to start giving academy youngster Ciaran Dickson more opportunities to prove himself on a regular basis.

Dickson was an integral part of the Gers Colts and U20s sides who earned praise for their performances in the Challenge Cup and UEFA Youth League last season and he was promoted to the senior squad towards the start of the season.

The Ibrox boss handed him his first-team debut against Falkirk in the League Cup last month, as he was brought on to replace Scott Arfield in the second half, and will almost certainly have left a good impression after he had a decent shot on target.

However, he has found his chances to play come few and far between since receiving his first senior appearance, having played just 35 minutes of first-team football this season and he hasn’t been named in any of the matchday squads across all competitions since then.

Once hailed as a “wonderful” wonderkid by Rangers academy coach Graeme Murty after his side fought back to beat Aberdeen last December, in five appearances in the UEFA Youth League, Dickson has already scored one goal so far this season, via Transfermarkt.

In a similar manner to Steven Davis, the Ibrox boss could transform the right-footed teenager into a deep-lying playmaker who can also play in attacking midfield. The potential is there, that’s for sure.

Gerrard knows a thing or two about breaking into the first team at a big club, while he will have no doubt seen several of his peers fall by the wayside during his time at Anfield, but it’s pretty obvious that he can put his faith in the youth system right now.

Instead of giving outcasts like Brandon Barker and Jordan Jones a chance, he needs to start developing these young players and helping them to establish themselves as first-team regular starters.

AND in other news, Ross Wilson must sanction Rangers swoop for Marijan Cabraja as a Barisic alternative…

Sean Longstaff betrayed Steve Bruce with a shocking performance in Newcastle United’s 2-1 defeat at home to Leicester City on Sunday.

Bruce recalled the 23-year-old to the Magpies’ starting line-up in place of the suspended Isaac Hayden, opting to favour the academy graduate beside his brother Matty, with Jonjo Shelvey initially seated on the bench.

However, the Longstaff brothers failed to take control of proceedings in the engine room, with neither man able to apply enough pressure to Brendan Rodgers’ visiting Foxes as Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans dictated the pace without breaking a sweat.

Matty Longstaff at least brought a boisterous presence to the side as he ran himself into the ground to track back and chase any loose balls, but the same could not be said for his sibling, who found himself overrun time and time again.

Bruce saw enough from his laboursome unit to introduce changes midway through the second half with Shelvey brought on for on-the-day left-midfielder Joelinton, in a decision the Toon chief may soon have regretted when Tielemans doubled Leicester’s advantage.

Andy Carroll would score his first goal for Newcastle since 2010 to offer Bruce’s Toon a glimmer of hope, but his perfectly timed volley proved too little too late, partly thanks to the turgid efforts of Sean Longstaff in the centre.

Longstaff has now started eight of his 11 Premier League appearances this season but is without a goal or an assist.

He only registered one shot during Sunday’s 2-1 defeat with an effort coming in the 21st-minute that was blocked, and he never came close to creating a chance for a teammate to score with just 11 of his 33 passes coming in the final-third, per WhoScored.

The 23-year-old Toon product completed a combined 27 attempted passes against Leicester, yet let Bruce down vividly when off the ball with just one clearance, one interception and one successful tackle to his name.

He had attempted three tackles but was dribbled past twice, while losing three of five ground duels and two of four aerial contests for a mere 44% success rate, plus turning over possession on six occasions, per SofaScore.

Longstaff displayed glimpses of his passing ability with three successful long balls from six attempts, yet never sought to bring play forward himself with no dribbles recorded.

Bruce will be livid with Longstaff for squandering his chance to regain a permanent starting role in Hayden’s absence, and will likely see the £16m-rated lightweight as being firmly behind his younger brother in the Magpies pecking order from now on.

AND in other news, Newcastle United could move to sign a £14.5m-rated gem who can “make things happen” in January.

According to an inside update by ExWHUemployee, Hammers boss David Moyes wanted to give Craig Dawson the experience of being in and around the match day squad over Issa Diop despite the latter man travelling to the game against Leeds United – with many Irons questioning the ‘stupid’ team selection.

Diop, who has found game time difficult to come by since his return from injury, with the back three of Fabian Balbuena, Aaron Cresswell and Angelo Ogbonna looking formidable, was excluded from a place on the bench in favour of Dawson last weekend.

Despite showing promise as a rising star for the Irons in the last two seasons, Moyes opted to give Dawson a place in the matchday squad for numerous reasons according to ExWHUemployee – with one of them being the fact he is more vocal than Diop.

Reacting to this development, many Irons had their say – find all of their verdicts from social media down below.

West Ham fans batter Moyes call over Diop

In other news: West Ham fans destroyed this GSB update, find out more here.

Speaking in a press conference after his side’s 0-0 draw away to Chelsea, manager Jose Mourinho has expressed joy over the confirmed fan return for Sunday’s north London derby – going on to say it’s a ‘gift for the Tottenham fans’.

After the government announced which regions fell into which tiers as England prepares to come out of lockdown for the second time, London was confirmed to fall into the Tier 2 bracket – meaning a small section of supporters can be in attendance as Spurs take on Arsenal this weekend.

The update, described as ‘good news’ by talkSPORT presenter Ian Moose Abrahams, comes after a lengthy period in which Lilywhites have been forced not to attend their side’s attempted return to glory under Mourinho.

Mourinho swoons over fan return

Now, as it is confirmed that 2,000 fans will be allowed to spectate at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Mourinho has expressed his joy at the news – going on to say it is gift for the club and it’s followers.

“I like the feeling of being top and having our first game back with fans, even if just 2,000 fans, it’s a gift for the Tottenham fans,” he explained in his press conference.

“We came from a difficult position last season and we are happy with that. If we were a bit better, we would have won today. The game was there for us. The next match is a must-win.”

Transfer Tavern take

Whilst all eyes will be firmly on whether Spurs can reign victorious and maintain their place at the Premier League summit, a return for Lilywhites supporters could certainly be a massive boost for the team – especially given the gravity of this encounter.

In other news: Spurs could lose this ‘mainstay’ in January, find out more here. 

Local MP Chi Onwurah has expressed her concern to The Chronicle over the silence surrounding the proposed takeover of Newcastle United.

As per the news outlet, The Department for International Trade (DIT) is withholding correspondence regarding the failed takeover at St. James’ Park by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabian’s (KSA) Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The Chronicle submitted no fewer than four freedom of information (FOI) requests about the takeover to Government departments and so far, none of them have agreed to release documents to do with the situation.

This has led Onwurah expressing her deep concern as to why this is the case when she spoke to the outlet:

“I am concerned that apparently, nothing of this correspondence can be shared with the public in whose interests it supposedly took place.

“I will ask them to, at least, set out whether they took a position on the takeover.”

What has Onwurah said about the takeover before?

Back in May earlier this year, Onwurah expressed that she was fully in favour of the prospective £300m deal between Mike Ashley and the Saudi-led consortium, suggesting how good it would be for the city and demanding that the voices of the Toon Army should be heard in Parliament.

Indeed, a lot has happened since then, and now there is a deep concern, not only from her but from fans of the Tyneside club, that the takeover may not happen after the Saudis failed with their initial bid.

Nonetheless, through the FOI request, The Chronicle surely have the right to know about some of the details as to why the takeover bid was rejected by the Premier League, and the release of such information could settle a lot of the supporters in the North East down, or perhaps rile them up even further, depending on what is said in the documents.

In other news, find out which Magpies target shone on international duty here!

Alex Iwobi is edging ever close to being shown the door at Goodison Park after Carlo Ancelotti overlooked the Nigerian forward against Newcastle United on Sunday, where Everton were without their star summer signing James Rodriguez.

Ancelotti favoured a change in shape to welcome additional central midfielders into the starting line-up in defeat to Steve Bruce’s Magpies, with Gylfi Sigurdsson and Andre Gomes offering the support to Dominic Calvert-Lewin with Richarlison still suspended.

Rodriguez was forced to sit out the Tyneside affair having failed to shrug a testicular injury sustained in the Merseyside Derby, but Everton chiefs remain confident the Colombian will win his race to be fit to face Manchester United this weekend, per the Liverpool Echo.

The former Real Madrid star is believed to be recovering well in the ramp-up to the Red Devils’ trip to Goodison on Saturday, allowing Ancelotti to be hopeful of recalling the 29-year-old after he missed his first Premier League fixture since joining the Blues.

Rodriguez has proven increasingly pivotal to Everton’s form this season, offering three goals and three assists in six top-flight matches, much to the delight of Ancelotti who has set out exacting demands for Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison to meet.

“I think James Rodriguez is going to help the strikers because he is a fantastic assist man,” said Ancelotti, via quotes by BT. “The target for Dominic is I hope he can reach 20 goals because he has the quality and ability, like Richarlison.

“With James at the time in Madrid, [Cristiano] Ronaldo scored 56 goals: I am not honestly going to ask Dominic to score 56 goals, but he has to try to do his best.

“We have two fantastic strikers and behind them, we have James and Sigurdsson. I think if they do not score at least 20 goals each they can have a problem with me. If I play as a striker and I have behind me James, Sigurdsson [and] Gomes, I can score goals and so they have to.”

Ancelotti’s support of Rodriguez’s talent comes in vast contrast to his apparent lack of belief in Iwobi, after snubbing the Nigerian who Marco Silva signed for up to £34million and moving away from having natural wingers on the field at Newcastle.

Going into Everton’s first defeat of the season at Southampton, Ancelotti stated that Iwobi would be offered the opportunity to play if Rodriguez was forced to sit out. But while the £50,000-per-week forward did start, he left an appalling impression and was hooked at the break.

“Alex is a player who works hard,” Ancelotti told the official Everton website. “He is fast and with his quality, he can help the team be better in certain situations.”

Those certain situations are appearing ever thinner, as Iwobi could only provide one shot, three unsuccessful crosses, complete one dribble, win four of seven ground duels and lose possession 13 times in the first half at Southampton. He then offered no shots, no dribbles, no accurate crosses, lost possession four times but offered a key ball against Newcastle, per SofaScore, having come on as a 76th-minute substitute.

Given Iwobi’s recent form when needed the most and now with just one start in six Premier League appearances, the outcast forward could soon be facing the axe permanently having already been touted for a potential departure this summer by the Mirror.

It was suggested that Iwobi was one of several fringe players that Everton were looking to offload after struggling to hit the ground running upon his arrival from Arsenal, with Director of Football Marcel Brands keen to trim the squad to a more manageable level.

Iwobi’s efforts in Everton’s recent fixtures will have done little to convince Brands and Ancelotti that he deserved to be retained, and another poor showing or again being overlooked against Manchester United if Rodriguez cannot be passed fit will surely be the final nail in his Toffees coffin.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands can build Everton’s dream unit with a gem who Carlo Ancelotti calls “one of the best”.

After seeing their big-money striker from last season fail to hit the ground running, it was no surprise to see Newcastle chase after a new number nine in the summer transfer window.

Joelinton failed to show why the Magpies spent a reported £40m in bringing him in from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, netting just four times in over 40 games in his debut campaign for the club.

And with the Brazilian front-man’s struggles, Steve Bruce’s side ended up signing Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson for around £20m, with the Cherries of course having been relegated from the Premier League.

But whilst the England international has already shown signs of being a real coup for the Magpies – he’s scored four goals in his opening four Premier League games – the Tyneside club could arguably have snared an upgrade on Wilson in Napoli marksman, Arkadiusz Milik.

The Poland international was the subject of major interest over the summer, with Newcastle’s fellow Premier League side Tottenham reported to be a prominent suitor of his.

It was claimed by Tuttosport that Newcastle had started to ask for information about the striker, and that the likes of the Magpies, Spurs and AS Roma were all interested in luring him away from Italy before the end of the window.

That of course, didn’t transpire, with Milik instead staying in Naples. But when you look at the Polish ace’s record over the years, and the level that he’s been doing at too, Newcastle would have got themselves a Champions League quality striker.

The 6 foot 1 ace netted 14 times across all competitions last season despite not always completing the full 90 minutes, and he even scored a hat-trick in the group stages of the Champions League against KRC Genk.

With 48 goals in 122 games for a side like Napoli, Milik outshines Wilson’s goal-scoring record at Bournemouth (67 in 187). Whilst some might point to the fact the former played in a stronger side, he was doing it for a team with more pressure and on the biggest stages too. Italian journalist Bruno Longhi also waxed lyrical about what the Polish star’s talents, saying he “does wonderful things with the ball”.

Whilst Wilson has enjoyed a phenomenal start to life on Tyneside, Newcastle may have missed a glorious opportunity to snap up an upgrade in the £80k-a-week earning forward.

And in other news, this Newcastle ace proved his importance to Steve Bruce with a fantastic international performance.

Glasgow Rangers have received a huge boost as Bongani Zungu is set to join up with the rest of Steven Gerrard’s squad for the first time ahead of the Europa League fixture against Lech Poznan on Thursday night.

What’s the word?

Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister confirmed that the South Africa international is available for selection for the first time since he joined the Gers on a season-long loan deal from Ligue 2 side Amiens on deadline day.

“Zungu is still in quarantine but I think he becomes available to train with us just prior to Poznan,” McAllister said, as relayed by The Glasgow Times.

“So that’s very encouraging. It adds to our strength in the middle of the park.”

Gerrard has been unable to select Zungu in recent weeks due to coronavirus restrictions but he has been working hard at home to ensure that he is fully fit and firing on all cylinders.

Tough choice?

As the old saying goes, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, but Gerrard may be tempted to tinker with his team once again as Zungu has entered the mix.

The Gers boss quite clearly rates Zungu very highly indeed as he’s recently claimed that he is a “dominant” midfielder who will bring the best out of the rest of his players, so his return to action leaves the Liverpool legend with a big decision to make in the middle of the pitch.

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The trouble is, this is going to be one of the toughest choices that the 40-year-old has had to wrestle with since taking charge of the Ibrox outfit. At the moment, Glen Kamara, Steven Davis and Scott Arfield are his preferred midfield trio, as they all started the first Old Firm derby of the season, which means that one of these three will have to be dropped in order to make room for the South African. And that’s without even mentioning Ryan Jack or Joe Aribo, who has recently returned from injury.

Whilst we aren’t for one minute suggesting that Gerrard will throw him in at the deep end, we do think he will make an appearance as a substitute in the second half. Otherwise, what was even the point of signing him in the first place?

South Africa legend Benni McCarthy recently heaped praise on his countryman, saying he had no hesitation in recommending the “fantastic” player to Rangers as he can “do everything”. He told The Sun: “I’ve watched him blossom over the last few years and Rangers have got themselves a fantastic footballer.

“He is the complete midfielder, very comfortable on the ball and so strong in the tackle. He can play as a defensive midfielder too because he is so good at cleaning up.

“But he also offers you an attacking threat and he can score goals.

“Zungu can do everything in the middle of the park and that is why Steven Gerrard was so desperate to sign him. He is a tough tackler and if you need someone to put their foot in then he is capable of that. If you need someone to go in for a tough 50/50 challenge then he is your guy.”

Last season, the 28-year-old made 21 appearances in Ligue 1, whilst he averaged one clearance and at least one tackle per game, via WhoScored. By comparison, Kamara is only averaging 0.7 tackles per game in the Scottish Premiership this season, as per WhoScored.

Gerrard will be well aware that squad rotation could prove pivotal as the season drags on as he has to balance domestic and European competitions. What better way for Zungu to earn his stripes than by giving him a chance to show what he can do against a side who have lost two out of their last three games in all competitions? However, Gerrard will have to consider his options wisely when deciding how to introduce him into the team.

AND in other news, Joe Aribo marks his Glasgow Rangers return with dominant display against Livingston…